Fethiyaaaaay!

We've had an action-packed three days here in Fethiye and it's time for a break. So starting today we will be lazily cruising the turquoise coast of Turkey on a gulet. That means no internet for the next 4 days. But here are some highlights of our recent stay in Fethiye.

It's a large town on the southwest coast of Turkey and serves as quite a travel hub for all sorts - backpackers, yachts, package tour folks, and long term 'snowbirds'. It's home to everyone....

....even dead ones. These are ancient rock tombs and are quite an impressive sight, spread along much of the coast around here. We only went to a few of them, but enough to realize they occupy some coveted view spots around here.

There is plenty to see without even straying too far from the town, with short hikes in the hills surrounding Fethiye. It's quite a modern city (similar to the whole country)....

 ....but every now and then you catch a glimpse of days gone by.

Of course, now the kids have picked up the habit of associating hiking with the opportunity to 'earn' a treat. It seems every adventure which extends beyond five blocks from our hotel now counts as a 'hike' and requires an ice cream reward.

Being a seaside town, there is seafood a plenty. You don't have to work hard to convince us to try it. There is an amazing little fish market in the centre of town where you choose and pay for your fish, and then it is immediately taken by one of a number of restaurants surrounding the central fish stall and cooked to your specification - grilled, baked, steamed, fried or whatever.

This guys tried to put the hard sell on Shirley - he would have given her 10 kilos of fish if he could have, and he kept proclaiming "I have the best fish here" and "I am telling you the truth". Shirley is not one to be swayed easily (and doesn't fall for the typical sales pitches). Eventually I think he may have got tired of her.

"No fish for you!!"

Kidding. It was fantastic - two whole sea bass, and enough deep fried fish roe and calamari to fill our bellies. The total fish bill was about $25 and they charged us $3 to cook each dish. Not too shabby.

We made quick work of one of the sea bass.

The next day we were on an all-day jeep safari (nothing to do with wildlife). Granted, it had a little bit of the package tour feel (yes we were taken to a carpet factory!!), but it actually combined a few interesting sights that we had wanted to go to anyway, but which were far out of town and hard to get to. So we signed up.

One of the best parts of the trip was that during the travel time between each destination, there were constant water fights between the jeeps in our convoy. What a fun way to pass the time.

Bullseye!!
(this would definitely not be legal in Canada)

Highlight of Turkey for the kids so far (okay, it's only been two days)

Put the weapons down - time to be serious for a moment.

I did learn enough to know why some carpets are expensive - the silk ones can take up to four years to complete!

One of the deepest and longest gorges in Europe was next on the itinerary - Saklikent Gorge is 50 km out of Fethiye, so it was nice to have it included on this trip.

Really beautiful place, but you couldn't help notice that there was no route for escape if the water were to rise quickly. But looking at the weather today, that wouldn't be a problem.

Definitely a deep gorge.

Someone leaving their mark in Turkey.

The countryside is stunning, and seeing it from an open air jeep was particularly rewarding

Mud baths? Never had that on a tour itinerary before! A little weird, maybe, but quite refreshing.

Some of the fine ladies of Canyon Heights would pay good money for this kind of treatment!

Only downside was that after a day in the back of a jeep, there is enough dust (and mud) that I'll never need to buy any hair product again.

The kids are always smiling at the beginning of one of Dad's long hikes. Don't worry, I'll wipe that smile off their faces after a couple of hills.

Rewarded with some picturesque views as soon as we left Fethiye - this little journey will be a 7 km jaunt through the surrounding mountains to an old ghost town.

"We have to go all the way over there?"

Our destination is the opposite side of the valley. If you look closely at what looks like a clear cut in the hillside, it's actually an abandoned village.

Walking is a great way to chat with the kids.

Turkish retirement. Good life if you can get it.

Interesting story about this town of Kayakoy. It's not an ancient town - rather it was abandoned only in 1923, after a population exchange between Greece and Turkey (a treaty arising from one of their many historical disagreements/wars). The Greeks who were living there (mostly academics and professionals) indeed left, but the Turks who had been repatriated from Greece did not wish to inhabit the village - they were simple farmers who preferred small plots of land with attached dwellings. So the village remains there, a haunting skeleton overlooking the new farming village below.

Anyway - we'll be back after our cruise wraps up next week. Stay tuned.